DVD Reviews

Swing Vote – DVD Review

By June L. Jan 23, 2009, 14:41 GMT

Kevin Costner stars in the hilarious timely comedy Swing Vote as Bud Johnson, an Average Joe, who is coasting through life with the help of Molly, his wise-beyond-her-years daughter. In a remarkable turn-of-events, the result of the presidential election comes down to his vote. Costner is joined by a brilliant all-star cast including Dennis Hopper, Kelsey Grammer, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci and George Lopez who will stop at nothing to ...more

Take one smart adorable little girl who lives with her down and out but loveable father in a remote western USA town, and throw in the Presidential election with an unbelievable glitch and you have a hit.

Seriously, this is a fun, interesting, entertaining “what if” kind of story that investigates the power of the individual to make a change in the world. The case describes the film as “a nobody becomes the voice of everybody.”

In a time when people feel helpless, or that their opinions do not count for much, a movie such as Swing Vote is greatly appreciated. Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner) is just getting by in life.

A series of unfortunate events brought on by too much drinking and not enough attention to what is expected causes him to lose his job. His daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll) is thoughtful, analytical, and most of all civic minded. Her essay on the importance of voting is chosen by a reporter (played by Paula Patton) to be shown on television.

She truly feels that it is one of the most important things a person can do and she tries every way to get her father interested in casting his vote on Election Day. The result is a mess up on a grand scale that has both the current President (Kelsey Grammer) and his opponent for the job Dennis Hopper rushing to find out more about Bud, his family and his problems.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot, because if you have not seen this film, the unfolding of events adds to the entertainment!

For anyone who saw Easy Rider in “the day” it is almost beyond imagining to see Dennis Hopper now playing a candidate for President of the USA. Both he and Kelsey Grammer ably supported by Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci and George Lopez, present a wry and witty look at some of the behind the scenes campaign activities and media practices.

Bud and Molly get drawn into the middle of the big decision, and for awhile, it is not certain that they can withstand the pressures. Kevin Costner is amazing as Bud, giving his heart and soul to the character, making you disgusted with him at one moment and cheering him on in the next.

Madeline Carroll is perfect as Molly, capturing and portraying the painful position of child having to do the adult thinking for both herself and her father. The love they have for each other is evident, and is strong.

Swing Vote is presented on single disc with a running time of 120 minutes. It is rated PG-13 primarily for language.

Bonus Features included on the disc are deleted and extended scenes that also have the option of a Director’s Commentary, a featurette “Inside the Campaign: The Politics of Production” which takes a look behind the scenes and at the events and challenges of putting together the film.

There is also a Director’s Commentary for the feature with writer/Director Joshua Michael Stern and writer Jason Richman. The feature is presented in both English and Spanish audio, and with Spanish subtitles.